Ricky Skaggs in Knoxville

Ricky Skaggs is an American country and bluegrass singer, mandolinist and fiddler, born in 1954 in Cordell, Kentucky. He became known to country audiences through the album Highways & Heartaches and songs including “Highway 40 Blues,” “Country Boy” and “Uncle Pen,” while bluegrass has remained central to his work. Ricky Skaggs joined Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys as a teenager, then later toured as a member of Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1982 and has made repeated appearances there. In 1997 he formed Kentucky Thunder, establishing the acoustic concert format that places his vocals and mandolin at the front of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder.